<HTML>
<HEAD>
<LINK REL="stylesheet" HREF="..\DclStyle.css">
<TITLE>MPL FAQ</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>
  <FONT SIZE="+2"><B>Mozilla Public License FAQ</B></FONT><BR>
  <B>Draft 1.0, 4/10/2000</B>
</P>
<P><HR WIDTH="20%"><P>
Please email Comments to <A HREF="mailto:mbeck@bigfoot.com">Michael Beck</A><BR>
For additional information, please also check the <A HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/mpl-faq.html">Official FAQ from Mozilla</A>

<H3>Author perspective</H3>
<OL>
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Do I retain copyright once I publish source under the MPL?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Absolutely. You still retain all your copyrights.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Can I release the code under a different (possibly commercial type) license?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Yes. Since you have the original copyright, you can do it, but you can do
         it only for your own code, and not for any contributions from others.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> In two years Acme, Inc. comes with a great new license, which I would love
         to use. Am I always bound to MPL for my released code?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> You can use a Dual License approach, i.e. you keep the code under MPL, and
         you add another license, e.g. GPL. The user will have then the option to use
         the one s/he prefers.<BR>
         Or, as the Initial Contributor, with the original copyright, you can release
         it under the other license. Please note: even if you release the code under
         new license, users of your original MPL-released code can continue to use
         under MPL as before.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> I think, JEDI could benefit from having cryptographic functions. I would
         like to donate some (DES, Tripple DES etc.), which are covered by patent
         rights (RSA, for example)? How should I do it?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> All contributions are "Subject to third party intellectual property (IP)
         claims." Thus, if you are aware of any patents infringements, before
         submitting make sure that you:
         <UL>
           <LI> secure the rights to use the IP in your contribution (e.g. by paying
                a fee)
           <LI> modify the code so it doesn't infringe (in our case, provide other,
                non-patented cryptographic functions)
           <LI> in a worst case scenario, if the two above are not possible, do not
                submit the code
         </UL>
         Please note: different countries may have different patents laws. Therefore
         in some countries it could be legal to use patented IP (e.g. because the
         patent expired), while in others not. Check with your local Patent Office.
</OL>

<H3>User perspective</H3>
<OL>
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Can I use the MPL code in commercial software? If yes, am I obligated to
         credit the author?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Yes, you can use the MPL code in any commercial software. Since you have
         to include the MPL code, the credit is included in the license header.
         While not required, it is also customary to credit the author in "AboutBox".
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Must I release the source code of used components?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Only of those covered by MPL, together with any modifications to them.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Must I publish my apps under MPL if I used MPL licensed code (the viral aspect) ?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> No. That's the big advantage over GPL - you can use different code, mix MPL
         and commercial code, but you don't have to release either the application,
         nor the non-MPL code under MPL.  Basically, what is MPL, will stay MPL,
         but it doesn't have any impact on the non-MPL code.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> If a bug in MPL licensed code renders my clients machine unbootable, who
         can I hold responsible for that?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Nobody. You use MPL licensed code at your own risk. Since it is provided
         to you in a source code form, you can inspect it, test it, making sure that
         it does, what you want it to do.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Must I publish modifications to MPL licensed code?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Yes. This is one of the MPL requirements. You are getting a free source
         code, but you have to publish all modifications to the code, unless you
         have done the changes for your internal use.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> Must I publish code based on MPL licensed code under MPL?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> Yes. You cannot change the license terms. Only the Initial Developer can
         add an additional license (see dual license)
  <LI><B>Q:</B> If I subclass the MPL code, do I still have to publish the new code? After
         all I didn't modify the code at all!<BR>
      <B>A:</B> That's a tricky one. By the letter of the law, since you didn't touch the
         original code, you might claim that it is a "new" code, therefore no need
         for MPL. However, by the 'spirit of the law', Inheritance (or subclassing)
         is a modification of the functionality of a given class, and as such a
         "derived work", so even if you didn't touch the original code, you are
         still making changes.
  <LI><B>Q:</B> I am proposing a modification to a JEDI-VCL component, which has a dual
         license (MPL and GPL). This new file also needs to include a new class.
         Should the source files for the new class be put in JEDI-VCL using MPL
         with GPL dual-license or can it be put in another location and use only
         the MPL?<BR>
      <B>A:</B> The license of a file can't be changed without the consent of the copyright
         owner. And a new file derived from an existing file inherits the licensing
         from the existing file.  In the case of this component, it has to stay MPL/GPL.
  <LI>   I am considering using an XML parser that has being covered by the MPL v1.1
         (or alternatively the GPL) in a commercial product. I will simply use the
         DLL libraries without modification, including the necessary header files
         in my own code. When I distribute (sell) my own product I would, of course,
         need to distribute the DLL libraries as well. My questions are:
         <OL>
           <LI><B>Q1:</B> Am I correct in assuming that simply including unmodified header
                   files and linking with a library covered by the MPL does not
                   place any legal restrictions or obligations on my commercial
                   product and its source code?<BR>
               <B>A1:</B> It places no obligations on the code YOU wrote, but there are
                   still obligations for the code you included. These include
                   source distribution (for included MPL code, not YOUR code),
                   and some notification requirements.
           <LI><B>Q2:</B> Am I obligated to distribute the (unmodified) source code that
                   produced the libraries with which I link?<BR>
               <B>A2:</B> Yes. Since you are shipping the DLL libraries with your product,
                   you have to make source available for the MPL code you ship.<BR>
                   <I>Note that the license also allows you to meet the distribution requirement
                   by making the source available via electronic means rather than having to
                   physically ship them with your product (as long as you tell your users
                   where to get it). If you are using unmodified source code you could probably
                   just point at the code author's server. If you did that you'd have to
                   specify how users could get the exact version of the source you used,
                   such as a CVS date stamp or something.<BR>
                   This might be tricky -- you are responsible to make sure the source is
                   available for 12 months after you ship, and there's no way of knowing
                   how long the author will keep old versions around. The CVS repository
                   is more of a sure bet. You could, of course, host the source on your
                   own servers to be sure it'll stick around.</I>

           <LI><B>Q3:</B> Am I obligated to make my use of the particular libraries known
                   to users of my product?<BR>
               <B>A3:</B> Yes, it's spelled out in the license. You need to credit the
                    source of copyrighted code that is not yours in both the product
                    and its documentation.
         </OL>
</OL>
</BODY>
</HTML>
